It may surprise you to know that inflammation is necessary and essential. It’s a healthy, crucial immune response to an attack to your body. Without inflammation, you could not heal and recover from an illness, injury, the exposure to allergens or toxins, or from the blow of emotional stress.
Inflammation should be short-lived, but it is sometimes chronic. It goes on and on and becomes the problem. Symptoms of chronic inflammation are low-level, persistent fatigue, joint and muscle pain, sleep difficulties, and mild anxiety and depression. Years of chronic inflammation hasten the onset of the leading causes of death: heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Chronic inflammation can be caused by factors outside of your control, such as an autoimmune disease, exposure to environmental toxins, drug reactions, or a severe injury. But inflammation can also be caused by choices you make. Regularly consuming processed and high-sugar foods, or excess caffeine or alcohol; failing to hydrate properly; getting inadequate sleep; working at a high stress job; or staying in an abusive relationships can put you in a state of unrelenting inflammation.
Millions of people try to control inflammation with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve). These temporarily reduce pain, but do not reverse chronic inflammation. They also carry risks, most notably ulcers, blood thinning, and kidney damage.
If you experience symptoms of chronic inflammation, see your doctor for an evaluation. Blood tests, including IgG food allergy testing, and a physical exam may uncover the source of your symptoms.
Natural medicines and lifestyle changes can help you reverse chronic inflammation:
Increase polyphenols in your diet. Polyphenols are plant compounds that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on the body. Readily available polyphenol-rich foods include berries, apples, grapes, leafy greens, and onions. Supplement your fruit and vegetable-based polyphenol consumption with flax oil: 2,000 milligrams (mg) daily with food, and green tea: 12 ounces daily, best hot and consumed away from meals.
Walking regularly reduces inflammation. Try to walk at a moderate pace for at least 150 minutes each week.
Try boswellia. Also known as Indian frankincense, the resin of the Boswellia shrub is a botanical medicine with a long history of use in Ayurvedic (traditional Indian) medicine to treat inflammation, arthritis, and pain. A typical dose: 300 mg to 600 mg daily. It is generally safe for most people, but if you are taking prescription anti-inflammatories or NSAIDs repeatedly, talk with your health-care provider before starting Boswellia.
Massage, stretching, and yoga alleviate emotional stress and reduce inflammation in muscles and joints. Yin yoga is a slower paced yoga that I’ve seen be very helpful in calming the body and reducing hip and low back pain.
Tryptophan helps cut inflammation by improving sleep and reducing anxiety. It increases the production of serotonin, your natural good mood neurotransmitter. Tryptophan is available in two forms. Take 500 mg L-tryptophan OR 50 mg 5 HTP away from food, at bedtime, daily.
Note: if you are taking anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication, do not take any form of tryptophan without first consulting with your health-care provider.
